3 hours ago
A Heartfelt Thank You - A Message from "Kris"
Hello all. My name is Blake, on here I go by Kris. I am a former moderator of this very forum, and a friend to many people on here who used to frequent the site back in its hayday. I recently came back on here to revisit the forum for the sake of two things in particular. The first of these was nostalgia, I have a lot of fond memories of this place that I will never forget. And the second was to see if any of my old friends still came here.
The answer to that second one was a disappointing, but very expected no. Of course, it has been a very long time now since the last major update for Pokemon happened, and aside from that even before Scarlet & Violet's release, interest in the site had shifted dramatically due to us all getting older and having less time for these things. Of course, I show no resentment for that change, for one it happened to me too. I'm glad people are living their lives and are hopefully in good spirits.
But, of course, a part of me is sad to see what happened to the website. How could I not be? Ever since I first joined in 2017, though I had lurked since 2016, I've been surrounded by nothing but a very positive and helpful community. This place was a fantastic resource in it's prime for information on the games, it was a way to seek out trade partners, practice battles, and at the core of it all was a community that felt close and connected. I think it is that, the community aspect, which I miss from Pokemon these days.
I still play the games frequently. Not as much, but still enough to call myself a fan. But it just is not the same without friends. Again I fault nobody for not keeping up appearance to play Pokemon, this is more of just a personal observation I have made in the years since I last came here. But let's not dwell on gloomy things, no? This site has alwys been a positive place and so let us continue that.
The answer to that second one was a disappointing, but very expected no. Of course, it has been a very long time now since the last major update for Pokemon happened, and aside from that even before Scarlet & Violet's release, interest in the site had shifted dramatically due to us all getting older and having less time for these things. Of course, I show no resentment for that change, for one it happened to me too. I'm glad people are living their lives and are hopefully in good spirits.
But, of course, a part of me is sad to see what happened to the website. How could I not be? Ever since I first joined in 2017, though I had lurked since 2016, I've been surrounded by nothing but a very positive and helpful community. This place was a fantastic resource in it's prime for information on the games, it was a way to seek out trade partners, practice battles, and at the core of it all was a community that felt close and connected. I think it is that, the community aspect, which I miss from Pokemon these days.
I still play the games frequently. Not as much, but still enough to call myself a fan. But it just is not the same without friends. Again I fault nobody for not keeping up appearance to play Pokemon, this is more of just a personal observation I have made in the years since I last came here. But let's not dwell on gloomy things, no? This site has alwys been a positive place and so let us continue that.
This Site Changed My Life
That title is not hyperbole. Truly, it is thanks to PokemonForever that I set my life on a positive trajectory. This place was my first true exposure to an online community for something I loved, at least outside of just watching YouTube videos. It inspired me to try a number of things, from art in threads where I did sprite edits, to learning to do some creative writing with stuff like the Monthly Meet & Greets and my Pokemon Movie Review series that never quite kicked off in hindsight.
At the heart of it all was of course the site's creator Justin Flynn. I don't know if Justin is still active online at all in any capacity anymore, I heard he sometimes pops up online but I can't say myself if this is true. Regardless of that, anyone who is a member of this site from back in the day will know Justin had health problems which kept him from being active all the time. @Justin, if you do still pop in here sometimes and you see this, this part is to you specifically.
For creating a community space for us all to come together that was welcoming, safe, accepting, and importantly fun, I thank you so much. 2017 is an interesting year for me to look back on. I don't believe anybody on here ever knew this but around that time I was questioning my identity. Doing that in an online space in those years was memorably dangerous due to trolls and cyberbullying. This place's overwhelming positivity and sense of community helped me to feel safe in general online, something kids and teens of that era needed, and need now. While not intentional, it was an important step in my journey to finding myself and learning to trust people, so once more Justin, thank you.
Next are the people I considered, and would still like to consider my friends on this site. These people all had a positive impact on me during my time here, and I will talk about them here.
@stephenWITNESS, one of the most consistent people I spoke to on here. I remember our struggles with timezones for trading XD, as well as our goofy bond formed over my plan at making a clan out of "Team Bike Shorts" lol. Yes, I still love Kris btw, I'm a shill for Gen 2 all the way! Thanks for putting up with my garish purple text in some of my posts by the way, and of course for all the Pokemon you helped me get! I hope you are doing well these days.
@RetroTyphlosion, another consistent chatter who I hit it off with rather quickly, I remember we would mostly yap when new news dropped, but it wasn't until we started looking at competitive stuff that we started frequenting each other's posts a lot. I still remember your love of Trick Room... and Cloyster. I never did end up adding you on Discord and I do regret that. Hopefully one day we can reconnect and see what's up
@FireTaco, someone I would not stop calling Senpai for some reason lol. Love me or hate me I wormed my way into your threads one way or another, and eventually we actually hit it off. You were one of the first people who became my friend on here, and I think you and 0kamii were responsible for recommending me for a mod position, which was amazing! I loved talking to you, and again I hope you are doing well!
Of course I still remember the greats like moo311 for their Genning threads for up and coming teambuilders, wartty and Hojunhu for their Breeding threads to help everyone out, ChaseInfinity for getting my account back (lol), and just in general everyone who I ever got to interact with here. I loved this community so much, and while I think it will most certainly never return, I still wanted to put this thank you up for the people who made it great.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you PokemonForever, its mods, its members, and its lurkers, for making my online experience a good one. If we ever come back, let us hope our reunion is sooner rather than later. Pokemon Legends ZA is releasing in the future, so perhaps we can see some activity again soon, but that is wishful thinking
I'm just grateful for the time I was here, the fun I had, the memories I made, and the people I met. Thank you all so much.
At the heart of it all was of course the site's creator Justin Flynn. I don't know if Justin is still active online at all in any capacity anymore, I heard he sometimes pops up online but I can't say myself if this is true. Regardless of that, anyone who is a member of this site from back in the day will know Justin had health problems which kept him from being active all the time. @Justin, if you do still pop in here sometimes and you see this, this part is to you specifically.
For creating a community space for us all to come together that was welcoming, safe, accepting, and importantly fun, I thank you so much. 2017 is an interesting year for me to look back on. I don't believe anybody on here ever knew this but around that time I was questioning my identity. Doing that in an online space in those years was memorably dangerous due to trolls and cyberbullying. This place's overwhelming positivity and sense of community helped me to feel safe in general online, something kids and teens of that era needed, and need now. While not intentional, it was an important step in my journey to finding myself and learning to trust people, so once more Justin, thank you.
Next are the people I considered, and would still like to consider my friends on this site. These people all had a positive impact on me during my time here, and I will talk about them here.
@stephenWITNESS, one of the most consistent people I spoke to on here. I remember our struggles with timezones for trading XD, as well as our goofy bond formed over my plan at making a clan out of "Team Bike Shorts" lol. Yes, I still love Kris btw, I'm a shill for Gen 2 all the way! Thanks for putting up with my garish purple text in some of my posts by the way, and of course for all the Pokemon you helped me get! I hope you are doing well these days.
@RetroTyphlosion, another consistent chatter who I hit it off with rather quickly, I remember we would mostly yap when new news dropped, but it wasn't until we started looking at competitive stuff that we started frequenting each other's posts a lot. I still remember your love of Trick Room... and Cloyster. I never did end up adding you on Discord and I do regret that. Hopefully one day we can reconnect and see what's up
@FireTaco, someone I would not stop calling Senpai for some reason lol. Love me or hate me I wormed my way into your threads one way or another, and eventually we actually hit it off. You were one of the first people who became my friend on here, and I think you and 0kamii were responsible for recommending me for a mod position, which was amazing! I loved talking to you, and again I hope you are doing well!
Of course I still remember the greats like moo311 for their Genning threads for up and coming teambuilders, wartty and Hojunhu for their Breeding threads to help everyone out, ChaseInfinity for getting my account back (lol), and just in general everyone who I ever got to interact with here. I loved this community so much, and while I think it will most certainly never return, I still wanted to put this thank you up for the people who made it great.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you PokemonForever, its mods, its members, and its lurkers, for making my online experience a good one. If we ever come back, let us hope our reunion is sooner rather than later. Pokemon Legends ZA is releasing in the future, so perhaps we can see some activity again soon, but that is wishful thinking
I'm just grateful for the time I was here, the fun I had, the memories I made, and the people I met. Thank you all so much.
Thanks for all the good times~
